Finally, our Tea Horse Road inspired film doc, The Tea Explorer has a first ever air-date on television on CBC’s Doc Channel on July 23rd, 2017 at 9pm ET. The link above will give a teaser of some of the people, leaves, and landscapes that are inseparable from this epic route through the sky. It is a story of Mountains, a green leaf, and the memories with some random obsessive bits from myself to fill in some of the spaces.
Shar Gong La, or Eastern Gate Pass along the Tea Horse Road in Tibet.
The Tea Explorer doc follows roughly the direction of my book but has to compress certain elements. Editing a passion project is an evil thing…for it takes an ability to cut out and for that I’m ever-thankful to 90th Parallel Productions and director Andrew Gregg for making those cuts. For the film we followed a route into Nepal’s remote Mustang region and the hallucinatory spaces of the Kali Gandaki gorge. Our route traced yet another alternate route of the great tea road, as well as finding a gift: the absolutely epic trader, Konga, who features in our film and warms it with his integrity and passion. The film will travel to film festivals as well and I’ll be updating when possible about the tea-fueler progress of the film.
Epic Konga retrieving some of his trade paraphernalia, which was used for yak and mules. An epic interview with this treasure of the days of Himalayan trade.
We’ll follow the tea leaves off of ancient tea trees in Yunnan as they move through the Himalayas ending up in Kathmandu.
A Hani picker of tea moves along a branch in southern Yunnan Province
Will also update regarding online streaming and DVD possibilities as I know more. Good sips and thanks as always for continuing to participate in these mountain and tea-fueled rants and wanderings.
A moment with my idol, Konga, at a recent trip to revisit him and present him with some more of the Yunnan Puerh tea, he craves. The Tea Explorer is as much about these vital characters as it is about the tea itself. Tea could not have traveled for 13 Centuries without these titans of the mountains hauling it.
About JeffFuchs
Bio
Having lived for most of the past decade in Asia, Fuchs’ work has centered on indigenous mountain cultures, oral histories with an obsessive interest in tea. His photos and stories have appeared on three continents in award-winning publications Kyoto Journal, TRVL, and Outpost Magazine, as well as The Spanish Expedition Society, The Earth, Silkroad Foundation, The China Post Newspaper, The Toronto Star, The South China Morning Post and Traveler amongst others. Various pieces of his work are part of private collections in Europe, North America and Asia and he serves as the Asian Editor at Large for Canada’s award-winning Outpost magazine.
Fuchs is the Wild China Explorer of the Year for 2011 for sustainable exploration of the Himalayan Trade Routes. He recently completed a month long expedition a previously undocumented ancient nomadic salt route at 4,000 metres becoming the first westerner to travel the Tsa’lam ‘salt road’ through Qinghai.
Fuchs has written on indigenous perspectives for UNESCO, and has having consulted for National Geographic. Fuchs is a member of the fabled Explorers Club, which supports sustainable exploration and research.
Jeff has worked with schools and universities, giving talks on both the importance of oral traditions, tea and mountain cultures. He has spoken to the prestigious Spanish Geographic Society in Madrid on culture and trade through the Himalayas and his sold out talk at the Museum of Nature in Canada focused on the enduring importance of oral narratives and the Himalayan trade routes.
His recently released book ‘The Ancient Tea Horse Road’ (Penguin-Viking Publishers) details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes, The Tea Horse Road. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire route stretching almost six thousand kilometers through the Himalayas a dozen cultures.
He makes his home in ‘Shangrila’, northwestern Yunnan upon the eastern extension of the Himalayan range where tea and mountains abound; and where he leads expeditions the award winning ‘Tea Horse Road Journey’ with Wild China along portions of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.
To keep fueled up for life Fuchs co-founded JalamTeas which keeps him deep in the green while high in the hills.
Would love to get an update on how I can watch this doc without the CBC channel.
Apologies for the tardy reply Marc. The film will travel to film festivals and after that there will be an disc and online option I’m told. I’ll be updating on this blog site.
Jeff
Jeff, I just recently caught the filmed tea trip on TV. I wish I new it was coming, but I caught most of it and would love to see it again. Hope its available on disc. going to search out the book. Thanks for the documentary.
Pleasure to hear from you. A second edition will be out in the coming months to the book and I’m told that there will be both disc and online streaming possibilities. Will be updating and thanks for the note.
-Jeff